Fuel tank balance

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Judah writes:

Does MSFS let you set whether you have oxygen in the plane?

The Baron 58 has a place for pilot oxygen, but apparently it's not
installed. In real life I would probably keep oxygen at hand on every
flight, irrespective of my planned cruising altitude.

Would you bring a parachute and life preserver too?

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Marty Shapiro writes:

Try going a little higher, like to Pike's Peak, 14,110. You will find
a noticeable drop off in power.

But the engine will still be automatically optimized for peak power,
whereas an aircraft engine will not. I think that's the point.

Also, human beings tend to start losing power at 14,000 feet, too.


Only if the fuel-air sensor was designed to handle that altitude.
Estimating from the performance I experienced, the limit seemed to be
somewhere between 11,000 and 12,000 feet.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

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Mxsmanic wrote:
Robert M. Gary writes:
How do I know when the engine is potentially being stressed based on
the instruments? Low manifold pressure?

You use your POH book. If it says that 75% power at 10,000 feet
requires 22" of manifold pressure and 2400 RPM , that's what you run.
As a pilot you decide what power (percent) you want to run and how fast
you want to get there. From there the POH will give you some choices of
MP/RPM. Faster flying, quickly burns more fuel.


You can't set the propeller pitch but you can adjust the propeller RPM.

On the A36 and B58 I've been trying to fly, there's a lever that says
pitch next to the throttle, and it has a feather setting (which I have
never used), so I presume it's pitch of the propeller blades.

Indirectly. The label is poor. The lever controls the RPM. The actualy
pitch is controlled automatically. You set the RPM you want, the plane
continuously adjusts the pitch to meet that. A typical training plane
would not have this control.

Is that just for reasons of economy, or does a rich mixture damage
something in the engine?

Leaning is also based on the power % you selected in the book.

You car does the same. For the same RPM your car will set a
higher mixture during acceleration vs. in freeway driving. Most planes
have a EGT (exhaust temp ) to measure mixture, but you can do it just
by sound in a more basic plane.

Higher EGT = rich mixture?

Higher EGT = peak temperature. So we speak of mixture in terms of peak.
I might say "I run my plane 50 degrees rich of peak, but Bill runs his
25 lean of peak. Bob likes to run his at peak".

Understood. My main concern is whether or not I'll get into trouble
if I fail to do all the tweaking of engine parameters while flying.

This is really more of a sim question. In real life when you transition
a student to more complex aircraft (with all the controls you are
speaking of) you discuss operations. Its much easier to understand from
a practical point of view. You're approaching it academically which is
harder to understand, especially w/o sitting one-on-one with a CFI.

-Robert, CFI

Steve Foley writes:

Would you bring a parachute and life preserver too?

Parachuting requires special training and there probably wouldn't be
time to put the parachute on in an emergency.

A flotation device would definitely be nice over water, or even a raft
for an extended trip over water.

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"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Steve Foley writes:

Would you bring a parachute and life preserver too?

Parachuting requires special training

Please cite the FAA regs.

Steve Foley writes:

Please cite the FAA regs.

It's not an FAA regulation, it's just a fact of using a parachute.
You don't just slip one on and jump.

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"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Steve Foley writes:

Please cite the FAA regs.

It's not an FAA regulation, it's just a fact of using a parachute.
You don't just slip one on and jump.


You do if the plane is on fire.

Steve Foley wrote:
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...

Judah writes:


Does MSFS let you set whether you have oxygen in the plane?

The Baron 58 has a place for pilot oxygen, but apparently it's not
installed. In real life I would probably keep oxygen at hand on every
flight, irrespective of my planned cruising altitude.


Would you bring a parachute and life preserver too?


We usually have the oxygen in the backseat even if we don't plan a high
flight. I don't think it has anything to do with being too lazy to put
it away :-)

Margy

Steve Foley writes:

You do if the plane is on fire.

You can jump without a parachute if the plane is on fire, too; the
results will be much the same, if you have no parachute training.

This is a key reason why parachutes are not present in civilian
aircraft. Most passengers don't have the training necessary to use
them.

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Mxsmanic,

You'd think that the engine would be
able to measure the static air pressure and adjust the mixture for
itself.


Compare the productoin numbers of aircraft piston engines and car
engines. All of GA probably buys as many engines per year as Ford
installs in a day. The money for FAA-certified (!) innovation simply
isn't in it. Thus, we have engines that are, technologically speaking,
over 50 years old. Think fixed timing, magneto ignition, abysmal
efficiency, huge displacement. The only exception is the Thielert
diesel based on a modern car design, just coming to market with great
success.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)